Post #4 - A Shot at Conclusion

Here, as I write my final blog post about Adam Johnson’s The Orphan Master’s Son, I’d like to tie up some loose ends. In reading this novel, it is nearly impossible to avoid thinking about truth. In North Korea, truth is often obscured to preserve the health of the communist state. Through The Orphan Master’s Son, Johnson asserts that truth has great power to free people’s minds, and its converse: that obscuring truth can keep a people imprisoned. This theme is evidenced at many points in the novel.

The North Korean citizens are driven to work for most of their lives and are forced to meet high production quotas in all jobs. Yet, the government promises that at the end of their life, they will be able to retire to a beautiful beach called Wonsan. When Jun Do works on a fishing boat as a spy, however, he sees that no one is on the beach and that wool has been pulled over the eyes of the people. In fact, when he is interrogated for the first time about events that occurred on the ship, he even goes so far as to question the interrogator: “Asking about Wonsan when everybody knows no one retires there. Everyone knows that’s just a place for military leaders to vacation. Why not just say what you want from me?” (104). But not everyone knows. Only those who are in charge and those like Jun Do, who has seen Wonsan from a ship, are aware that they are working towards a false goal. This obfuscation of the truth helps keep the Korean people imprisoned, and is as simple as just keeping up a lie.

Not only the lower class are deceived, however. Sun Moon has even been tricked, as evidenced by her reaction to her movie not being published preceding Jun Do feeding her the white flower. She says, “This is what hunger must feel like, this hollowness inside. This is what people must feel in Africa, where they have nothing to eat” (259). This reflects how the truth has been obscured from Sun Moon by the upper class illusion. She speaks of Africa, where they have nothing to eat, yet multitudes of people are starving within her very country. But because the truth has been hidden from her by wealth, Sun Moon has seen no problems with the DPRK, a nation plagued by social problems.

The power of obscuring the truth is also demonstrated in the scene in which the Americans meet the Koreans that I described in an earlier blog post. In his social commentary monologue about America (see post #3), Kim Jong Il points out problems with American capitalist society, but completely ignores the fact that many of these problems plague his country as well! As the Great Leader of the nation, who is constantly lauded and praised on daily loudspeaker announcements in every home, this incredulity spreads to his people. The entire nation has been duped!

These are just a few of the countless examples. Throughout the entire novel, we see that the people of North Korea are oblivious to the baseness of their circumstances. It is because of this that they can be controlled: people are forced into labor camps, some disappear mysteriously but no questions are asked, and all are forced to observe harsh laws that govern nearly all aspects of behavior. Adam Johnson’s The Orphan Master’s Son is a testament to the great power of obscuring the truth.

In reading this book, I noticed that my critical reading skills have greatly improved. It is likely because at the time I read my last book for independent reading, I hardly even knew what critical reading was. As I read this novel, the difference was like night and day. Instead of simply reading for plot, I found myself noticing recurring elements, underlining frequently, and dog-earing pages for easy rereading. And I still enjoyed the book! I read critically not because I had to, but because it felt right. In fact, I’m pretty sure I would not know how to read not critically even if I tried. In reading, I took advice about reading from other authors, such as Thomas C. Foster. He wrote in How to Read Literature Like a Professor that names are important. You will see that, following his advice, I wrote one of my blog posts about the significance of names. Vladimir Nabokov told readers to “notice and fondle details,” and I did just this, making close reading a central part of my critical reading of The Orphan Master’s Son. I noticed these details and connected them to others in an attempt to make supportable, logical meaning as Laurence Perrine calls for in “The Nature of Proof in the Interpretation of Poetry.” A prime example of this is when I connected the language describing “every last bitter mouthful” of past pain in the context of the white flower to when Jun Do actually forces Sun Moon to consume a bitter white flower at the state dinner. While I wasn’t exactly looking for the precise meaning of the white flower (instead I considered if it was a symbol), I believe I am on the right track.

Read The Orphan Master’s Son! I can honestly say that this is one of the best books I have read in a long while. At least for me, the novel was so satisfying because even though it is grounded by a strong plot, there are many layers of meaning to dissect. To top it all off, Johnson is a fantastic writer. His descriptions of the suffering endured by Jun Do were enough to give me chills. This book’s vivid imagery, thrilling plot, and complex themes of human rights and nature in the context of a real nation much like its portrayal in the book (Johnson researched profusely before writing) make it an superbly engaging read. Five stars. Ten out of ten. Adam Johnson has created a masterpiece with The Orphan Master’s Son.